Hirata Rui's Desire to Hit Someone

Under extremely lax supervision, the afternoon classes also ended quickly.

All Sakurajima high schools generally let out at half past three, and Koudo Ikusei High School was no exception.

Students could choose to join clubs that interested them, or simply head straight home—either was fine.

But it was just the start of the term.

No one had joined any clubs yet.

There was still over an hour of free time before the school-announced Club Fair.

Taking advantage of the free time after school, once the teacher left the classroom, Horikita Suzune stepped up to the podium.

"Everyone, please listen to me for a moment."

"Horikita, is something up? Karuizawa and I were planning to go out and have some fun—can't this wait until next time?"

Unexpectedly, the first to refuse was D Class's Little Angel, Kushida Kikyo!

"That's right, Kushida-chan worked really hard today. We were thinking of throwing a little party to cheer her up. Whatever it is, let's save it for tomorrow."

Yamauchi Haruki chimed in right after, then teamed up with the Foolish Trio's Sudo and Ike Kanji to start packing their things, showing no intention of listening to Horikita.

After all, the aloof Horikita was nowhere near as appealing as the gentle Kushida.

"It's great having these idiot simps to back me up!"

Kushida Kikyo breathed a sigh of relief inwardly.

The rumors during the day had irritated her, and she'd only managed to maintain her gentle facade after venting in her dorm at noon.

Based on Kushida's judgment.

The only person who could know about her past was Horikita Suzune, who came from the same middle school.

In other words.

The only one who could have spread those rumors was Horikita Suzune!

That damn Horikita wasn't planning to expose her past here, was she?

Kushida absolutely didn't want her past to be revealed.

Though she'd rather quietly force Horikita to drop out, since Horikita was this hateful...

She'd have to fight head-on!

Luckily!

It was just the start of the term, and Horikita had no influence yet.

Meanwhile, with her outstanding looks and gentle demeanor, Kushida had already successfully attracted a few boys—Yamauchi Haruki was one of them.

Another was Tenyo Yuyuki, who had given her his trust at a crucial moment.

And besides.

Though not as much as Hirata, Yuyuki also held a certain influence among the girls.

She definitely had the advantage!

Thinking this.

Kushida Kikyo cast an expectant look at Yuyuki, her eyes faintly glistening with crystal tears, a blush spreading across her pretty face.

Beneath her adorable appearance, she instantly inspired goodwill, making anyone want to protect such a girl.

"Heh."

Yuyuki smirked inwardly, genuinely impressed by Kushida's acting.

But the two of them weren't even on the same wavelength.

He had a fair idea of what Horikita wanted to say.

After all, so far.

Everything that had happened was still within his control.

But.

He couldn't let Kushida develop any resentment toward him, or all the groundwork he'd laid would be wasted.

"Suzune, is what you have to say very important?"

Yuyuki stood up and looked at Horikita. "If it's not that important, how about I relay it to Kushida later?"

Hearing Yuyuki's words, Horikita casually glanced at Kushida and said coldly, "Idiots who want to leave can do as they please. But what I have to say is fairly important. My personal suggestion is that you'd be better off staying."

"Tch."

At Horikita's icy tone, Sudo stood up angrily, slamming his right hand against the tabletop.

"Horikita, right? You've been talking to yourself since a while ago. Just a woman—what kind of attitude is that?"

"Just a woman? That's quite an arrogant statement."

Horikita shot back instantly, her tone sharp and biting. "I said, if any idiots don't want to stay, they can leave right now. Can't you understand something that simple?"

"What the hell is that attitude supposed to be? You looking down on me? Come on, let's go!"

"Hey... hey, calm down, Sudo. As popular guys, we gotta be magnanimous. Don't stoop to her level!"

The furious Sudo was about to give in to his impulse to act, but was quickly held back by Ike Kanji and Yamauchi Haruki of the Foolish Trio.

Although Horikita's attitude was excessively cold and came off as arrogant, Sudo's outburst immediately stirred up discontent among the girls in the class.

After all.

Sudo's disparaging remarks about women were too broad a blanket statement, even if he hadn't meant it that way.

Along with that.

Yamauchi Haruki, an outsider just trying to mediate, was also blacklisted by the girls in the class—his choice of words was hardly appropriate either.

Seeing the class in this state, Hirata quickly stepped forward, flashing a bright smile.

"We still have over an hour until the Club Fair. Why not hear what Horikita has to say? After all, we're all classmates in the same class. There'll be plenty more chances for us to communicate going forward."

Pausing briefly, Hirata then turned to Kushida and suggested, "Personally, I'm planning to join the Football Club. Most students who want to join a club probably won't be free until after five, so more classmates can make it to Kushida's gathering then."

Toward the end, Hirata looked at Kushida with a half-joking tone and said, "Kushida, will you give us a chance?"

Faced with Hirata like this.

Kushida had no words to refute him.

Moreover.

Once she realized Horikita wasn't trying to expose her past, Kushida temporarily abandoned her plan to target Horikita.

Kushida then put on a warm, friendly smile and nodded. "Of course, but it'd be better to hurry up. It's the start of the semester, so other classes might be having gatherings too. If it's too late, there might not be any spots left."

Worried about what Horikita might do next, Kushida laid out an early escape route.

Hirata sighed in relief and nodded, then looked back at Horikita to make a suggestion.

"Horikita, could you keep it as brief as possible? If it's really too long, you can find a chance to tell me alone, and I'll relay it to everyone."

"Of course. I don't want to waste too much time on people of no value either."

Horikita nodded calmly. She genuinely believed that.

However.

Horikita's personality at this point was hardly endearing. Sudo slammed the stationery on his desk straight at Horikita and roared.

"You bastard really are looking down on me! Take back what you just said!"

"How surprising. It seems you do have some self-awareness after all."

Horikita nimbly dodged to the side, meeting Sudo's gaze without an ounce of fear.

The others in the class quickly backed away a few steps, but still didn't dare to leave. Walking off on their own would easily give the impression they didn't care about the group.

Even the brave Lone Wolves didn't dare to defy the class's momentum at a time like this.

No one stepped forward to mediate either. Sudo had already lost everyone's goodwill with his earlier remarks, but Horikita's words were hardly likeable either.

The only option was to side with neither.

D Class was showing signs of collapse.